NEX:GEN United We Stand - Completed Novel

Iva Pope

Sliding her hand across her pillow, Iva felt the sun coming in from her bedroom window. She felt the warmth of the sun on her skin. Iva lifted her hand up to the top of her head. She felt her fingertip brushing through her short hair.

Moving her head away from her bedroom pillow, Iva let a sigh slither over her lips. She was tired from resting her body. She knew her mother would be in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for her.

Looking over at her wall, Iva saw a cardboard box. She had unpacked most of her belongings over the past three weeks. Iva was impressed with how her bedroom had seemed to change. She was excited to be home for once.

Crawling out of bed, Iva felt her hair on the top of her head. She brushed her fingers through her hair, making the strains that were sticking up go back into their place. Iva looked across her room at her desk with a mirror on the wall behind it. She saw her reflection in the mirror. She was thin with a baggy t-shirt draped over her body. Iva knew some people would use words like vulnerable to explain her appearance. But Iva knew she was not that girl.

Standing up to her feet, Iva clenched her hands into fist. Iva felt a deep clenching feeling inside her gut. She knelt down to her knees. She looked up at her reflection in the mirror. Iva watched her reflection begin to morph. Her eyes became feline like with a blue light glow around them. She felt her bones shifting for a moment.

The pain from her bones snapping out of place, made Iva's eyes water. She had felt the pain a few times before when she would change. She had begun to tolerate the pain, which flowed down from her neck to her toes. The sound of her bones popping erupted into her ears. She listened to each part of her body, as they moved into place.

Glancing down at the ground, Iva placed her fist onto the floor of her bedroom. She knew the next stage of her body transformation would be painful. She felt her skin erupting, like every cell in her body was catching on fire. Iva felt the burning feeling come and pass. She stretched her fingers out on the floor.

The feeling of her tears rolling down her face felt calming to her. Iva looked up for a moment. She saw herself in the mirror. She had parts of her, which seemed to have changed into a white tiger with black striped fur. While some of her had stayed in her human appearance.

Iva stood up to her feet. She had felt her body stop shifting into her tiger body. She wondered why only some parts of her were able to change. Iva had never experienced a partial change before. She looked over her shoulder as a sound touched her ears.

Standing in the doorway to her bedroom, Iva saw her. Her mother stood with her hand up to her face. She looked surprised by what she was before her eyes.

"Not you too." Her mother muttered. "Oh no."

Iva saw the fear in her mother's eyes. She felt her body shifting back to her human skin. Her bones hurt for a moment. She looked at her reflection in the mirror with her shirt draped over her body. Iva saw how quickly she changed back. She wondered what had made her transformation become unstable.

Looking back at the doorway to her bedroom. Iva wondered where her mother had gone. She took a step towards her bedroom door. Iva knew she should get changed, before leaving her room. She placed her hand up to her bedroom door.

Pushing onto her bedroom door, Iva felt conflicted. She knew her mother had seen her power once before. Iva wondered if she made her mother despise her again. She looked at her closed bedroom door as the thoughts raced around inside her head. Iva knew her mother would never hate her, she was her daughter after all.

Taking a step away from her bedroom door, Iva walked towards her dresser. She reached her hand for the drawer. She felt the cold metal of the handle in her hand.

Pulling on the drawer, Iva got read for her day.